The Trinity Mirror chief executive, Sly Bailey, has said the newspaper group will not pursue a general paywall strategy.

Bailey, who took time out of a results conference call to journalists specifically to announce the group's view on online pay strategy, said it will only be possible to charge for select products and services.

"We certainly don't believe throwing up a paywall is the right strategy," she said. "It won't be possible to charge for general content, I can't see why people would pay for high quality content when it is free elsewhere ... the BBC is an obvious one here."

She said that the idea of paywalls, which News Corporation is considering for the Times and Sunday Times later this year, ran against the grain of digital consumer behaviour. Unlike being able to charge for a physical newspaper, where consumers tend to have an allegiance to one publication, online choice is a key facet with web users consuming numerous newspaper and internet websites, she argued.

"Why pay when you can click to a similar site for free?" she said, adding that whether publishers liked it or not consumers also have the strong attitude that in paying for a broadband connection "they feel they get access to a free world of media".

"Rather than think about paywalls we are driven by what customers want, not what we want," she said. "I do think it is possible for publishers to charge for some content, unique high value content that is difficult for consumers to access elsewhere."

Bailey said that Trinity Mirror's regional operation, consisting of more than 120 titles, did not feel pressure to adopt national newspapers' charging models as it has never been a cover price-driven operation. However, she added that there would be trials of additional products that could be charged for.

Of the national newspaper operation, which consists of titles including the Daily Mirror, she said "we do see opportunities to charge for content". The cover price-driven nature of national newspapers meant that building a profitable business model online, to help balance declining circulation and revenues, "doesn't translate as well".

"We are not on a mindless hunt for unique users," said Bailey. "We are looking at new specific content brands and diversified revenue streams". An example she gave was of MirrorFootball.co.uk, which she expects to be profitable this year, and a paid-for iPhone application that is soon to be launched.

"This type of online product we realistically feel our audience will pay for," she said. "We are looking at specific areas to charge for some elements of our content for some audiences."

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